Teamwork gets Dodgers back to the World Series

LOS ANGELES - After third baseman Justin Turner and closer Kenley Jansen propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to their most recent home playoff victory a few days ago, they took off their uniforms and pulled on Tshirts supporting a teammate.

Jansen’s shirt urged fans to send Turner to the All-Star Game, albeit three months late. The red-bearded Turner’s shirt simply bore Yasiel Puig’s No. 66 in big blue numerals.

This type of thing happens almost every day around the Dodgers, who will host their franchise’s first World Series game in 29 years on Tuesday night.

“The thing is, I think we all care about each other,” Jansen said. “It’s not about that one guy. We are all here helping each other out and getting better every day. Ever since spring training, we’ve been doing that.”

Jansen’s belief has been proven throughout a season that’s already one of the most remarkable in Dodgers history. Despite their jaw-dropping payroll, an LA-record 104 regular-season wins and a 7-1 rampage through the NL playoffs, these Dodgers are a team in a fundamental sense.

Although the majors’ most expensive roster is extraordinarily deep, the Dodgers lack a peerless star beyond Clayton Kershaw, who doesn’t play every day. They share the offensive load to a remarkable degree, and they play defense with an aggressiveness that underlines their deep trust in each other.

As Los Angeles fans — at least the ones who can get the Dodgers’ television network — already know, this is an upbeat, thoroughly likable group of players and coaches working together to end a championship drought before it reaches three decades.

Nobody carries the Dodgers. They lift each other.